Valentine's
by Shinigami29
Summary: *WARNING!! THIS IS MY FIRST ANDROMEDA FIC!! I'M SORRY IF IT SUCKS!!* Harper leaves something for Beka.... Beka comes to look for him... //note: slightly humourus, even though I didn't mean for it to be//
1. Default Chapter

Ello y'all! Okay, this is my first Andromeda Fic, so forgive me!! Anyway, me not going to have my muses here for awhile, me need a break for 'em... hope you like the Fic!! (And yes, I know that this is late!! I don't care!!)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda. If I did, I wouldn't be on my knees, begging you not to rat me out so that I don't get sued, because I'm not getting paid squat for this.  
Valentine's  
Harper dashed fervently around the Machine Shop, trying to figure out what was wrong before someone realized that he wasn't paying attention...  
  
"HARPER!!" to late...  
  
He spun around, only to see Beka, standing at the door, glaring daggers at him.  
  
"What is happing here!" she screamed over the noise, managing to break his ear drums. "And why the hell haven't you fixed it!!"  
  
"I can't only do so many things as once Boss!" he yelled back at her, quickly taking out his nanowelder and fixing what ever was within arms reach. In about 5 minutes, the ringing in their ears seized to exist, and he sighed in relief.  
  
"What happened Harper?" the ever so furious Beka asked. "And why the hell didn't you fix it before it became a problem?"  
  
"I was busy Boss," Harper defended himself.  
  
"Busy my ass!" she seemed to grow about three sizes bigger, yelling at him, her face glowing red; he cowered. "What were you doing that was SO much more important then the ship FALLING APART!?!"  
  
"It's February Boss," Harper squeaked, if possible, looking about 10 years younger.  
  
"I don't care what month it is!!!" Harper just backed up, afraid of what she might do. "What I do care about is that you make sure to keep us alive!!"  
  
"Alright boss," Harper whimpered, looking down to the ground. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again..."  
  
"Good!" with that, she stomped out of the door.  
  
Harper sighed, and moved to the little conduct that he was in before. Quickly, he pulled himself into it, and a minute later, he was in the small little intersection that he was working before. Sighing again, he got back to work on what ever he was working on before.  
  
"I don't even know why I try," he murmured to himself, hoping that no other troubles would occur on the Andromeda any time soon...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Damn him," she murmured to herself, walking back to the command. "Why can't he just stay on task? Make it so that we don't almost die?"  
  
She continued walking, knowing full well that it wasn't his fault... its just that, she didn't want HER engineer slacking off, especially since they had a High Guard officer looking over them...  
  
"Okay, maybe I was exaggerating on the 'ship falling apart' part," she leveled with her conscious. "But that doesn't give him the right to slack off..."  
  
"Actually, it does," the Holographic AI appeared in front of her.  
  
"And how is that?" Beka snapped at the most powerful warship in known time.  
  
"There is an age old saying that an original engineer on this ship made up," the Hologram offered.  
  
"And what would that be?" Beka was REALLY getting sick of this...  
  
"It's quite a story actually," the Hologram said. "I suggest that we go to your quarters, for it might take me awhile to tell it all to you."  
  
"I'm due on command," she really didn't want to listen to this.  
  
"Fine, I'll tell you now," this time is wasn't the Hologram that spoke, but the human avatar of the Andromeda.  
  
"Quickly Rommie," Beka hissed, not slowing down a bit. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm pissed right now."  
  
"I know," Rommie quickly fell into pace next to her. "Well, we got a full new crew when Dylan became the Captain, except that one of the engineers refused to leave. She claimed that this was her home, and that no place -even in the Commonwealth- could replace it. Her father had helped build it, and she was born upon it. Now Dylan was still new here, and didn't think that a girl working around all that technology was a good idea," at this point, Beka stopped to listen fully, "so he had it so she was removed a month after he gained command. Sooner or later, she found out, and demanded that he let her stay; Dylan refused. So she warned him that, and I quote, 'Don't piss off your engineer!' end quote. Of course, Dylan did nothing."  
  
"And what happened?" Beka was now mildly interested in the story.  
  
"Then everything started to go wrong," Beka and Rommie both looked up to see their ever so faithful captain, walking down the corridor toward them. "She had my shower run cold; my clothes came out of the wash dirty instead of clean; anything that you could think to go wrong on a warship and more, she did it. Not only that, but only to me."  
  
"How did she pull that one off?" Beka asked herself.  
  
"Quite simple actually," the Hologram reappeared. "I have done several checks and have concluded that she about half as smart as Harper." Beka and Dylan nearly choked.  
  
"Only half?" Dylan paled, recalling past situations. "Remind me never to piss of Harper..."  
  
"Lucky you," Beka was paler then Dylan. "I think I already have..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"...72, one thousand, 73, one thousand, 74, one thousand..."  
  
He slowly counted how long it was until it would become suspicious to the others as to where he was.  
  
"Hell, why am I even counting?" he stopped working on what ever he was working on. "With what Beka said, I'm betting that none of them even care about me..."  
  
Sighing, he grabbed his nanowelder and starting working again.  
  
"Might as well get this done first... then I'll get off the ship..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper?" Beka furiously searched the Machine Shop for him, but couldn't find him anywhere. "Where are you!?" no answer.  
  
She gave up, and started to her quarters.  
  
"I can't believe that you've just disappeared," she mumbled. "God, you of all people should know that after a 4 hour long shift, I well enough cooled down to talk to..."  
  
Another 5 minutes before she'd be at her quarters...  
  
"I've really got to figure out where your little hiding spot is, that way I'll be able to find you, no matter what. Hmm... then I wouldn't always have to worry where you'd gotten your cute little ass off to..."  
  
Four Minutes...  
  
"God, I didn't just say that... I didn't say that, I didn't say that, I didn't say that, I didn-"  
  
"Yes, you did say that. I could replay it for you if you'd like."  
  
"No, thank you Andromeda, I'll be fine... God, do I really think that about Harper? What about, well, what about him being the annoying little engineer that always looked way to young and yet fixed everything?"  
  
Three minutes...  
  
"What about me thinking him as a little brother? What about his silly little remarks and his funny jokes? What about his fears of Rev, and his nightmares? What about that annoying voice in my head that driving me crazy!!"  
  
Two glorious minutes to go...  
  
"GOD!! He's my engineer! I saved him from Earth! He's eternally grateful! When did drooling over non-existent abs come into the factor? Wait a second, I don't know if that's true or not, for all I know, he could have great abs..."  
  
One minute and several more images of topless Harper to go...  
  
"Get a hold of yourself Beka! He's what, 21? Hell, you don't even know. What do you know about him? I wish I knew more about him... Bad Beka! Bad Beka! Get those thoughts out of your head! Stop twisting your own words!!"  
  
Finally there...  
  
She opened her door and hurriedly entered the room, fully intent on taking a shower, but, she couldn't. Something was, off, but she didn't know what...  
  
"This is going to be a long day," she sighed, and sat down on her bed, looking around her room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Come on," he whispered to himself. "Your almost there, one foot in front of the other, and voila, you're in the docking bay... Now alls I have to do is get into the Maru, override Rommie's systems to make her believe that your still on the ship, and head off to the El Dorado Drift. After that, you're home free..."  
  
He repositioned the bag on his shoulder, and walked closer to the Maru; he had to do this, he had to get out of here.  
  
"Come on Seamus, you've done harder things before. You were the only one with a weapon in that Magog attack, remember? You had to slaughter you cousins, remember? You can easily hijack a cargo ship, trick a warship, and dock at the closest Drift, now, can't you? Of course you can, you're a genius, remember?"  
  
All he had to do was keep telling himself all this and he would get it done...  
  
"One foot two foot, red foot blue foot," he mused, recalling a part from an Ancient Earth book that his little sister had read once... his little sister...  
  
One foot...  
  
Two foot...  
  
"There, that wasn't that hard," he told himself, entering the age old ship that didn't even belong to him. "Now to get this hunk of junk into the air..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Come on Beka," the hoarse whisper sounded deafening to her ears. "What's out of place here? Let's see; Harper's not barging in, saying something is wrong... but that stopped when we got on the Andromeda. Harper's not sleeping off some wound... once again, stopped when we got on the Andromeda. Think, what was here, that isn't here..."  
  
Beka look around her room for the thousandth time, sighed, and flopped back onto her bed.  
  
"Okay, it's impossible, I'll never find wha-" and there, sticking out of the little conduct that Harper usually crawls around in, was 'something.' More precisely, 'something' with her name on it. "Okay, I wonder who that's from....... I swear Harper, you're so sneaky sometimes..."  
  
She stood up, and just managed to reach what ever it was with the tips of her fingers... it didn't budge.  
  
"Not only that," she muses, going to fetch a chair. "But you make everything damn hard too..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"...Come on, come on, come on..."  
  
It had become his little mantra, ever since he realized that Beka hadn't forced him to fix the Maru yet, so he had to do it now.  
  
"This goes there, that goes here... and I'm done!!"  
  
Finally, now all he had to do was trick the Andromeda and override her codes to get out of the docking bay...  
  
"Okay," he got up and started toward the cockpit. "One thing down, three more to go..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Got it! Whoa! OUCH!! God Seamus, did you have to make this THAT hard to get?!?!" Beka now sat on the floor, a numb pain in her back, looking over what ever Harper had put up there. "Let's see..."  
  
It was a plain envelope with her name on it, but it was too heavy to hold just paper.  
  
"Great Harper, wonder what you've put in here..."  
  
She opened the envelope, and the first thing that fell out, was a necklace. It had a perfect silver chain, and the little heart on it looked to be made of a combination of silver, copper, and gold.  
  
"God, this must have cost you a fortune..."  
  
Still in slight awe of the necklace, she opened the envelope, pulling out the letter that was there.  
  
Dear Rebecca,  
  
I just wanted you to know how much I admire you; how much I love you... I hope you have a much better Valentines Day then me, Captain Valentine, for I'm leaving. I'm borrowing the Maru, and with any luck, I should already be at the El Dorado Drift. You can pick up your ship there. Well, there's nothing left for me to do now is to leave.  
  
Forever Yours, Seamus Zelazny Harper  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"...come on, almost done, just give me a few more seconds..."  
  
And before his eyes, the docking bay doors opened.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Andromeda! Where's Harper?!" Beka was running down the hall toward Harper's quarters, hoping that he was still packing or something.  
  
"He's in his quarter's sleeping," the ship's voice told her.  
  
"Sleeping! Are you sure!!" okay, now she was confused...  
  
"Perfectly; he returned to his quarters, got something, went into the air conducts, when he got out he went to the docking bay, then- wait, that can't be right."  
  
"What can't be right?" Beka stopped and the Hologram appeared.  
  
"According to my calculations, he went into the Maru, and then was instantly back in his room without moving at all. Also, the Maru in not in my docking bay anymore."  
  
"Oh great," she cursed herself and her bad luck. "Tell Dylan to meet me on command; this is important!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Come on! Please?" Harper bit his lip, hoping that the 'ever so nice' man would let him dock.  
  
"Why do you need to dock?"  
  
"Because, my friend is coming later to pick up this ship and I promised her that I would be gone by the time that she got here!" he said quickly.  
  
"Ah, trouble with the misses, aye?"  
  
"Yeah, something like that," he blushed. "Could I dock now?"  
  
"Sure thing! Just make sure you high tail it outta here right after!"  
  
"Sure thing," he mumbled, getting ready to dock. "Um... thanks."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"But I swear that he isn't here!" Beka screamed to Dylan, trying to get out of his grasp and to the controls.  
  
"How do you know that?" Dylan tried to calm her down. "He could very well be in his room. Rommie could have just made a mistake; we'll get Harper to fix it as soon as he wakes up."  
  
"But I KNOW he isn't there!" Beka reached into her pocket for the letter that he wrote to her. "He left me this..."  
  
"Alright," Dylan reached for the letter, but Beka held it out of reach.  
  
"This is personal, and you have to right to read it," she stated. "But I can personally say that this says he is in the El Dorado Drift!"  
  
"And do you have anything that I can use as back up to this?"  
  
"The Maru is gone!!"  
  
"I'll take that as good proof..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Okay, how hard can it be to sleep?" he asked himself for the umpteenth time, squirming to find a comfortable position to sleep, and ending in utter failure. "Okay, maybe I don't need sleep. I've got a nice hotel to spend the night in, and the crew will be at the Drift to get the Maru tomorrow at the latest... so, I'll just go to the nearest bar and grad a quick drink first..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Damn it! Just let us Dock!!" Beka screamed at who ever was at the other side.  
  
"It's too late! The gates are closed! Go away!"  
  
"But I need to look for someone!!" oh boy, this guy was in for it.  
  
"Looking for someone, aye? Hmm... was this someone piloting a rust bucket called the Eureka Maru?"  
  
"How did you know that?" Beka was confused...  
  
"He came in a while ago, saying that he had to dock and get outta here. Whoa, me knows for sure that your not getting through, not even in the morning!"  
  
"And why the hell not!" god! This was getting annoying!  
  
"Cause you'll skin the little guy alive!"  
  
"What?" Beka asked unbelievably. "What would give you that idea?"  
  
"Simple! He said that he promised his girl that he wouldn't be on her ship when she got here! So that must mean that he made some sort of little mistake that you women hate! So I think I'll give the guy a chance to get off the drift before you can come and get your ship!"  
  
"Do you have any clue what you're talking about?" Beka was seeing red, but also, her eyes were becoming blurry from tears.  
  
"Yes I do missy!"  
  
"No, you don't!" she snapped, she couldn't even think. "He's MY engineer! And all the sudden, I find a letter in a place that ONLY he can get to, hurt myself getting it, and read it only to JUST find out that he's in love with me! Not only have that, but just FIVE GODDAMN MINUTES before hand I've started to realize that I feel the same way about him! And you TRYING to tell ME that I'll 'skin him alive'!!!"  
  
No words came as a reply, just a short message with the location of a dock they could go in.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"...come on... one foot two foot, wet foot dry foot..."  
  
He felt slightly better, talking to himself, as he sat at the bar. He ordered himself another drink, and rested his face in his hand.  
  
"What's wrong laddie?" he snapped back to reality, and looked at the bartender.  
  
"Oh, nothing," he mumbled, reaching for his drink; he could feel the tears threatening to break through. "Its just that I've confessed love to someone who would never love me back, hijacked her ship, left it in the dock, and am now hoping against hope that I don't see her again, while at the same time, I'm a living corpse without her..."  
  
"That's a whole lotta nothing, laddie," the Bartender smirked. "My names Bill."  
  
"I'm Seamus Zelazny Harper," he murmured, mostly to himself.  
  
"Seamus? As is, the famous little Seamus that used to cause amuck down in the hell whole earth?" Bill asked wildly.  
  
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" the 'Famous Little Seamus' asked. Bill laughed.  
  
"Just that, Nietzscheans all over know of your work on the Andromeda," Bill sounded really excited. "Heck, people other the Nietzscheans know of your work too!"  
  
"Yeah well, thanks, I guess," he was feeling too glum to gloat about himself. "But I'm not working on the Andromeda anymore..."  
  
"What?" Bill sounded like he didn't understand a word he was saying. "You'd give up a job on the most powerful ship in the Commonwealth? Why?"  
  
"That girl I confessed love to, she's the second in command," that was all Harper could take; slumped down onto the counter to hide the silent tears, caused from his past, present, and his 'oh so glum' future.  
  
"Ah, that would cause a problem, wouldn't it?" if Harper was looking up, he'd run because of the little glint in Bill's eyes.  
  
"You're telling me. Heck, if I could turn back time I wouldn't have given her that letter..." he slumped down farther into his own arms.  
  
"Come with laddie, will ya?" Bill got up and pulled Harper behind the counter.  
  
"Yeah sure, But what about the bar?" he was a little confused as to where they were going.  
  
"Oh don't worry," the glint in Bill's eyes grew, but Harper couldn't see them... "Johnny will take over..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Beka?"  
  
"Yes Tyr."  
  
"How are we going to find your love?"  
  
"Two things Tyr. One, my old friend Johnny owns a bar and knowing Harper, he'll end up there sooner or later. Two, stop mocking me or I'll kick your ass."  
  
"I'm sure the little professor wouldn't mind..."  
  
"Shut up Tyr!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Um, Bill?"  
  
"Yes laddie?"  
  
"It's Harper; when are we going to get to where ever we're going?"  
  
"We'll be there shortly laddie."  
  
"It's Harper"  
  
"Right laddie, right..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"This is where we're supposed to be?" Tyr asked.  
  
"Yes Tyr," Beka snapped at him. "Believe it or not, I know how to contact my friends to help me in about 5 seconds flat! Me and Johnny always meet here!"  
  
"Quite," Tyr put up his hand to emphasize this.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said quite, even you would be able to hear it if you listened," Tyr glared at her, and she listened.  
  
"Right laddie, right..."  
  
"Yeah, right! Could you please tell me where we're going! 'Cause if you don't mind, I would like to go back to my hotel and mope right about now."  
  
The second voice sounded a lot like Harper's to her...  
  
"I told ya 'Famous Seamus', we'll be there soon enough. In fact, we're here right now."  
  
'Famous Seamus'?  
  
"Oh swell; we're in the middle of a dark alley for what reason? No reason at all, I just know it!"  
  
"Well, ya could tell me why ya were crying..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Well, ya could tell me why ya were crying..."  
  
"C-crying?" he choked on the words; he didn't think he'd noticed. "Who me? I wasn't crying!"  
  
"Yes ya were," Bill said, sitting on a crate. "And you telling me about this second in command lady seem to be the source of it; did the gal say no?"  
  
"The 'gal' -as you do kindly put it- didn't say nothing," Harper snapped, settling for the ground. "Not that I let her..."  
  
"You didn't let her speak?" Bill seemed to be very interested in his love life.  
  
"Hell no, I know her to well," he rested his forehead against his knees. "She would think I was kidding... everybody thinks I'm kidding... that's why I left the ship in the first place. None of them really cared to hear what I said..." Bill chuckled. "What so funny?!"  
  
"Your shipmates, that's what," Bill was laughing now, and it took him a minute to regain the ability to speak again. "I have Nietzscheans coming to my bar, saying how there life was ruined by a little kludge that they called Seamus. Those shipmates of yours should be afraid of ya!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Your shipmates, that's what. I have Nietzscheans coming to my bar, saying how there life was ruined by a little kludge that they called Seamus. Those shipmates of yours should be afraid of ya!"  
  
Tyr was speechless at this comment, but Beka wasn't. She crept over to where the voices where, and made her presence known.  
  
"Yeah, we should be," Harper's head snapped up, and she could see the surprised written on her face.  
  
"Beka, I, um, I," he stood up but stayed near the wall, as if he was afraid of getting hurt. "I know what your go-" Beka silenced him with a swift kiss, pulling him away from the wall.  
  
"Hmm," she said when she finally broke away. "What was I going to say?"  
  
"Um, well, I," Beka laughed at his speechless ness; he smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day, Beka."  
  
"Hmm... looks like you're the one getting the Valentine..." 


	2. Hope Lost

Ello y'all!! I'm specifically writing this for JA Baker and Kitsu-chan!! No one else! Well, I'm only writing it for them because -as of yet- I have no other reviewers... ANYWAY, I hope that you like it JA Baker and Kitsu- chan!! And anyone else who decides to read this as well!!  
Hope Lost  
"Harper?"  
  
"Yeah Rom-Doll?"  
  
"Could you please tell me why you thought no one cares?"  
  
"Um... no, I can't."  
  
"What If I told you it was an order?"  
  
"I would still say no Rom-Doll; now, let me finish these repairs cause I've got to head off to dinner soon."  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"Yes Rom-Doll?"  
  
"Are you sick?"  
  
"No Babe, only in love."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"I can't believe this! Me, the master of calm, am nervous as hell!"  
  
"Beka, calm down."  
  
"Calm, I am calm, why wouldn't I be calm?"  
  
"Your pacing the room?"  
  
"I'm a little hyperactive."  
  
"Your worrying about what to where tonight?"  
  
"Okay, your right, I'm not calm."  
  
"Told ya so."  
  
"Alright Trance, you were right, now help me!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper, your bleeding."  
  
"I don't care right now Rommie; I have to get this done."  
  
"Your health is much more important then these repairs."  
  
"Get this Rommie; I can't go to dinner until these repairs are done, and bodily health is standing in the way of getting them done. So, since dinner in the most important thing right not, I'm not really caring about bleeding. Now, let me work."  
  
"Why is dinner so important?"  
  
"Because its dinner with Beka."  
  
"Your never going to tell me what happened at the El Dorado Drift; are you."  
  
"Not a chance."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"What about this Beka?"  
  
"Do I look like a chipmunk?"  
  
"Um......... no. How 'bout this?"  
  
"That makes me look fat."  
  
"And how do you know that? I've never seen you where it before."  
  
"Bobby made me give him a lap dance once."  
  
"I see..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper."  
  
"What now Rom?"  
  
"Go to medical now or I'll lock the Machine Shop doors when your getting ready to leave and get a med bot to help you."  
  
"But either way I would be late to meeting Beka!"  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"Tell you what Rom, you do that, I'll jack into your system and open the doors, and go get ready for dinner anyways, alright?"  
  
"You've really thought this through, haven't you?"  
  
"Ahuh..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Come on Beka! Just try this one on! Please?"  
  
"I'm not wearing a dress!"  
  
"Do I HAVE to list off the reasons for you to wear it?"  
  
"Put it this way, I hate dress, and your puppy dog eyes aren't doing anything to help!"  
  
"But it would go great with your neck lace."  
  
"It's a dress Trance! D-R-E-S-S! I HATE dresses!"  
  
"And I'm certain that I heard Harper say that silver goes great with your eyes."  
  
"No, I LOATHE dresse- he said what?"  
  
"That silver goes great with your eyes. And black IS slimming..."  
  
"Fine, I'll wear it..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"I'm not going down to medical Rommie."  
  
"Why are my bots cleaning up your quarters?"  
  
"Oh that. I sent them down there."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because that's where me and Beka are having dinner."  
  
"I see..."  
  
"Of course you see. You see everything on this ship."  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Go to medical."  
  
"Haha; not working."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"You look great Beka!"  
  
"Glad one of us thinks so."  
  
"Now all you need is a present."  
  
"A present?"  
  
"Yeah! You know, since he gave you that necklace and all..."  
  
"God Trance, I'm gifting him enough by just coming, let alone in a dress!"  
  
"I know, but don't you want to get him something else..?"  
  
"Okay fine. I'll be back in a minute..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Very funny Rommie! I thought I told you that I'd just jack into your system!"  
  
"I know, but this will give Beka and Trance a little time."  
  
"Well, what ever your talking about, I don't care. Just as long as Beka's okay and I get outta here."  
  
"Harper!"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You disabled my sensors to your quarters as well! Could you tell me why?"  
  
"Because I don't want your prying eyes and ears over looking -and hearing- what ever happens in there. Good day Rom-Doll."  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"What now?"  
  
"Please go to medical?"  
  
"No."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Beka!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Your going to give him that?"  
  
"Sure, why not?"  
  
"Its, its, its..."  
  
"A condom."  
  
"Yes! Why would you give him *that*!?!"  
  
"Take a wild guess."  
  
"Beka!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Your getting him something else."  
  
"But what if-"  
  
"I'm positive that he has them in his quarters."  
  
"Ah, good thinking..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Rommie?"  
  
"Yes Harper."  
  
"Let me in my room."  
  
"No Harper."  
  
"I'm not going to med bay whether you like it or not, so just open the door!"  
  
"Why don't you just jack into my systems?"  
  
"Hahaha, I've already tried that and you know it."  
  
"Just go to the med beck."  
  
"No Rommie."  
  
"I'll shock you again."  
  
"I don't really care Rommie."  
  
"Why won't you just listen to me?"  
  
"Haven't you thought that I might have a first aid kit in there?"  
  
"Maybe, but I don't have my sensors to second that."  
  
"You'll just have to trust me then."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Thanks Rom-Doll."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"What about this?"  
  
"He doesn't like plants."  
  
"He likes plants."  
  
"They die when he takes care of them."  
  
"Point taken. What about this?"  
  
"I got that from my dad. It used to belong to my mom."  
  
"Um... how 'bout... this!"  
  
"He thinks that's ugly."  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"He's been on the Maru longer then you have."  
  
"Then what do you think you should give him?"  
  
"A condom."  
  
"Okay, back to square one..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"Rommie! I'm in the shower!"  
  
"Where's that first Aid kit?"  
  
"I was lying. Now, get out of my shower!"  
  
"Not until you go to the med deck."  
  
"You do know that I can classify this as black mail, right?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, I can tell Dylan that you were in MY shower, watching me, and you get the entire lecture about it."  
  
"You've done your research."  
  
"I know, now get out."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Really Beka, I think you should give him something else."  
  
"What, you want me to give him the condom?"  
  
"No, but, you don't have to give him THAT... do you?"  
  
"Its better then nothing."  
  
"Okay... now for make up."  
  
"No make up."  
  
"What?"  
  
"No make up."  
  
"Um... how 'bout some of my perfume?"  
  
"And what's wrong with my perfume?"  
  
"Just trust me on this one."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"I'm busy Rommie."  
  
"Just thought you'd want to know that Beka has now left her quarters."  
  
"Oh, thanks... You can go now."  
  
"Do you need any help?"  
  
"Yeah, actually, you can help me."  
  
"Really? How?"  
  
"Saying something to Beka for me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"This...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Hello Beka."  
  
"Rommie! God, you almost gave me a heart attack!"  
  
"I have a message for you."  
  
"Really? From who?"  
  
"Harper. Would you like me to pay it?"  
  
"Um... sure."  
  
"He says that your late, and that your going to have to make it up to him."  
  
"Hmm... A have an idea how... thanks Rommie."  
  
"Oh, and Beka?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Make sure he goes to the Medical Bay after."  
  
"What did he do?"  
  
"He got a little infection. Nothing to worry about."  
  
"To bad, I'm already worried..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"What now Rommie?"  
  
"I told Beka that you have to go to the med deck."  
  
"But I'm okay! Really I am!"  
  
"Tell her that."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
Beka walked up close to his door, suddenly getting nervous all over again. Shaking it off, she pressed a button and waited to be let in.  
  
Soon enough the doors opened, only to reveal Harper. He was wearing beige cargo pants that really looked nice on him with a long sleeved midnight blue shirt on as well. Looking at him up and down, she noticed a white cloth wrapped tightly around his left hand.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked, taking his hand to inspect it.  
  
"I'm fine Beka," he smiled. "And you look gorgeous by the way, not that you've ever looked other wise."  
  
"Flatterer," she playfully punched his arm while she gently massaged his hand.  
  
"I know," he smiled even more, and pulled her carefully into the room. "Come along, dinner awaits."  
  
In the center of the room there was a table set for two. The white table cloth clashed with the blood red rose nicely. On either side of the table, there was a bowl of soup, and a wine glass.  
  
"This is, beautiful Harper," she looked at him in the eye and smiled. "How did you ever do it?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
Looking at her, he almost forgot to answer her question.  
  
"I got some bots to whip up an old recipe from Earth up while I was in the Machine Shop," he said, glancing over her figure once again. "And don't worry, I've never really had it myself. It's supposed to be very delicious."  
  
"I'll trust you Harper, but right after I'm checking out that wound of yours," she added, sitting down.  
  
"Mhm..." he managed to say, taking another look at her; he sat down and reminded himself to breath.  
  
The black dress she was wearing hugged her every curve, yet was loose enough in the 'upper area' that his imagination went wild. The 'upper area' was also *very* low cut with only two straps tying it together at the nape of her neck. Plus, the entire thing radiated a silvery glow.  
  
"God Beka," he murmured, picking up his spoon. "Couldn't have worn something more, 'revealing', could you?"  
  
"Oh great," she got a panicked look, and shot out of her chair. "You don't like it. Damn, I told Trance that it was no use!" She tried for the door, but Harper beat her to it.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" he caught her wrist and pulled her near him. "I never said that you didn't look great. And I already said that you look gorgeous -which you do- so why are you acting so nervous?"  
  
"Me? Nervous? You must be mistaken," Beka tried to cover up, slowly edging her way back to the table.  
  
"Hmm... nope, not mistaken," he purred in her ear, not letting her get closer to the table. "You were worrying over what to wear for me."  
  
"Um... yeah?"  
  
"You look great."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
God, she must have died and gone up to heaven. Then she remembered something, and grinned.  
  
"Of course I look great, 'Famous Seamus'." She purred into his ear, fully content in skipping dinner for once.  
  
"Your not going to stop with the 'Famous Seamus stuff, are you?" he dragged her back a bit, heading to the bedroom.  
  
"Not a chance..." she then remembered the gift... "I have something for you, Seamus."  
  
"If it's a condom, thanks," she could have smacked him.  
  
"Nope, Trance wouldn't let me," she giggled at his expression. "Said that you had some."  
  
"Oh hahaha! She knows full well that I don't!" what did he mean by that?  
  
"And how would Trance of all people know of this?" she saw the blush on his face and assumed the worse. "No, don't tell me. The two of you have been secretly seeing each other, and this is some bet, right?"  
  
"No Boss, of course not!"  
  
"Then why are you calling me Boss instead of Beka?"  
  
"Because I'm used to calling you Boss."  
  
"Whatever Harper, I know your lying. I'm outta here."  
  
And she left. The guy she had saved, and been dreaming about for a week, who had JUST asked her to have dinner with him tonight, she left behind. And she'd be damned if she ever believed a word he said again...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
He couldn't believe this was happening, this couldn't be happening! It was going so well! Well, going well for a week... but still!  
  
"Beka wait!" he finally regained the ability to speak and ran after her. "I can explain!"  
  
"Oh, I bet you can," she didn't even turn around. "I know you Harper! You've been hitting on Trance for ages! Why would it make a difference to you?"  
  
"It perfectly well would! Because I don't feel anything for Trance like I do for you!" he saw her slow down, and hoped that she believed him.  
  
"So, that just means that you love Trance, and think I'll like every other friend of your then?" he tried to explain, but she wouldn't let him. "Save it Harper! Like I said, I know you. You're pathetic." With that, she turned around, and walked out of his life... 


	3. Trance's Opinion

Ello y'all! Hmm... seems that people actually like this Fic... although I only have 8 reviews... oh well^_^ reviews aren't everything!! Well, I hope that you all enjoy the Fic! Bye Bye!!  
  
-  
  
Trance's Opinion  
  
-  
  
"Trance?"  
  
"Yes Rommie?"  
  
"Could you talk to Harper?"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Well, Dylan and Tyr are busy playing basket ball, and Beka recommended that you talk to him."  
  
"Strange, I thought that Beka would jump at the chance to speak with him..."  
  
"Yes well, I could tell you what went wrong, but Harper cut my sensors from watching his room. I did however overhear an argument that they continued in the corridor."  
  
"Really? Could you play it on the screen?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
The nearest screen was filled with the picture of Harper running down the corridor to Beka.  
  
"Beka wait! I can explain!"  
  
"Oh, I bet you can! I know you Harper! You've been hitting on Trance for ages! Why would it make a difference to you?"  
  
Beka stopped on her way down the corridor and turned to talk to him.  
  
"It perfectly well would! Because I don't feel anything for Trance like I do for you!"  
  
"So, that just means that you love Trance, and think I'll like every other friend of yours then? Save it Harper! Like I said, I know you. You're pathetic."  
  
Beka turned around and walked away; the screen went blank.  
  
"Now will you talk to Harper?"  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"He's been fixing various things on the ship since this fight, and he has scrambled my sensors so I don't know where he is."  
  
"Okay, where is Beka then?"  
  
"Command."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper?"  
  
"Yeah Rom-Doll?"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"In your Mainframe."  
  
"Where is your physical form?"  
  
"Can't tell, it's a secret."  
  
"Please Harper, you haven't cheeked out that infection yet, and when I scanned it last time, it was infected. Think about how bad it is now!"  
  
"It doesn't matter Babe. As long as I fix you up..."  
  
"You can't fix me up if you're sick!"  
  
"Yeah I can. I can just jack into your Mainframe again and fix you from the inside, like I'm doing now. No harm done."  
  
"What if you have to make a physical repair?"  
  
"Then I'll go to it in my body, and fix it. No harm done."  
  
"You just don't get it, do you Harper? The infection could kill you if it gets bad enough!"  
  
"You just don't get it, do you Rommie? I can fix you faster if I don't have any distractions or delays! That means no going to the Med Deck, and no talking. So, say bye bye!"  
  
"What are you talking abou-"  
  
"Yeah, bye bye Rommie. You may be able to hear me, but as long as I'm in your system, every one of your voices is muted."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Your shot Dylan."  
  
"Alright Tyr. Here it goes! Yes! Oh, hello Rommie."  
  
Pause.  
  
"Is it just me, or has you ship gone mute?"  
  
"Yeah, I think she has. What would like Rommie?"  
  
Pause.  
  
"I don't think she's going to answer."  
  
"Me neither. It's your turn Tyr."  
  
"Indeed it is."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"So Rom-Doll, I'm finished up here. I only have about, say, 15 various major things to fix on the ship, and then I'll go concentrate on the minor things and maybe some upgrades. Well, now that you know, I have to get going. Say hello to your voice, because here I go!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Yes! Another poin-"  
  
"Dylan, you need to find Harper, now."  
  
"Rommie, now you decide to speak?"  
  
"You need to find Harper, now."  
  
"Why the urgency ship?"  
  
"Because, if he doesn't get to the Med Deck the infection he got in his left hand will get worse and he might die."  
  
"Alright, where is he?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What do you mean you don't know?"  
  
"I mean I don't know. He scrambled my sensors and I can't detect him."  
  
"Wouldn't that harm everything on the ship?"  
  
"Actually Tyr, Harper is extremely smart. He has it so my sensors can't detect him. Everything else is how it should be."  
  
"So why didn't you tell us before ship?"  
  
"Because he did something that mutes me whenever he is in my mainframe."  
  
"But why would that affect your avatar Rommie?"  
  
"Because it completely mutes me, not just my main AI."  
  
"So, why don't you just trap him in you mainframe?"  
  
"Two reasons. One, he could easily get out. Two, even if by some chance, he couldn't get out, it would put great strain on his mind and that could cause the infection to grow even more."  
  
"So, we have to go throughout the ship, trying to find him?"  
  
"Basically, yes."  
  
Sigh.  
  
"Great, just great..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Beka?"  
  
"What do you want Trance."  
  
"Could you go and speak to Harper?"  
  
"The only thing I want to do to him right now is beat his skull in."  
  
"That's not true, and you know it."  
  
"So what? I can still kill him, right?"  
  
"Well, if the infection doesn't kill him, yes."  
  
"What? What infection?"  
  
"The infection I told you to get Harper to go down to the Med Deck for."  
  
"What are you talking about Andromeda?"  
  
"I'm talking about this."  
  
The main screen was filled with the picture of Harper running down the hall to Beka like it had down in Hydroponics.  
  
"Beka wait!" and she paused it.  
  
"There."  
  
A circle formed around Harper's outstretched hand, only to see the tightly wound bandage.  
  
"So what? It's not like he didn't treat it."  
  
The picture zoomed in on Harper's bandaged hand, and close up, you could make out the blood that was still there.  
  
"Your right, he didn't."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper? Where are you boy!?!"  
  
"Tyr?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to tell you?"  
  
"Essentially, no."  
  
"Good, neither do I. But since your looking SO hard, I'll give you a clue. It's in a place that you would hate to be. Well, I gotta go now! Bye!"  
  
Pause.  
  
BANG!  
  
"Damn you boy!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"We have to tell Dylan about Tyr."  
  
"You mean Harper actually replying to him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Alright, but we also have to send a droid to fix the dent in the wall."  
  
Pause  
  
"I have a plan that might work...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Rommie, any clue on where he is?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What?"  
  
"A place where Tyr would hate to be."  
  
Pause.  
  
"Where did you get that information?"  
  
"Tyr was calling for him, so he answered him over the intercom, giving him a clue."  
  
Pause.  
  
"Rommie, I think I have a plan... inform the others when you figure it out, will you?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Good... HARPER!!! Where are you!?!"  
  
"Not going to work boss. I over heard that little chat you had with Rommie, and no, I'm not going to give you a clue because you're not trying hard enough. Well, happy camping! Bye!!"  
  
Pause.  
  
"I don't think your plan is going to work."  
  
"Me neither, but tell Trance anyways, will you."  
  
"Of course."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Beka, please?"  
  
"No, I'm not going to help you."  
  
"For the last time, he doesn't love me!"  
  
"Alright then, he doesn't love you. That's even more reason for me not to listen."  
  
"Alright, what did he say?"  
  
"It doesn't matter, okay? It's over with, and I was a fool for thinking that he could ever feel like that for me."  
  
"But Beka-"  
  
"Trance?"  
  
"What is it Rommie?"  
  
"Dylan wanted me to tell you about a plan to find Harper that failed. I'm guessing that he thinks you can try it and succeed."  
  
"What is it Rommie?"  
  
"I didn't know you care about Harper, Beka."  
  
"He's my engineer, I half to make sure he's in good health."  
  
"Keep telling yourself that, and you might start to believe it."  
  
"And what does that mean?"  
  
"Will the two of you stop? Why are you fighting? Rommie, you're a warship! And Beka, just a few minutes ago you didn't care about him, and now you do?"  
  
"Like I said, he's my engineer. I saved his but from Earth and have gone through a lot with him; I'm not going to let him die of some stupid infection."  
  
"And he's my engineer as well; actually, he's more then that. He created my avatar, and I feel responsible for him."  
  
"Like a mother would a child."  
  
"Stop smiling Trance. Rommie, tell us this plan, maybe Trance can use it to her advantage."  
  
Blink.  
  
"Alright, Tyr called out to him, asking him where he was. He answered over the intercom. Of course, he didn't say where he was, but he did give us a clue to where he was."  
  
"Really? Where?"  
  
"A place that Tyr would hate to be. Anyway, Dylan tried to do the same thing, but he replied that Dylan wasn't trying to find him hard enough. That is all."  
  
Pause.  
  
"Beka?"  
  
"No Trance."  
  
"You have to!"  
  
"I'm not helping you!"  
  
"But he's your engineer!"  
  
"He's Andromeda's engineer."  
  
"Beka, either you help me, or not."  
  
"How about, not? Because I really do-"  
  
"Thank you! Thank you! Follow me please!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Hmm... need that stupid nanowelder... damn, I had to leave it in the Machine Shop, didn't I? Oh well... just have to go back and get it....."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"What took you so long?"  
  
"It's not my fault that they were fighting over trying to find him or not. Now, lets get this over with; where do I have to hide?"  
  
"In that conduct."  
  
Pause.  
  
CLANG.  
  
Sigh.  
  
Pause.  
  
"How does Harper stand being in here?"  
  
"Be quite, you don't know when he might come!"  
  
"Fine."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Just call out and ask where he is!"  
  
"He's not going to listen to me. Maybe to you, but not to me."  
  
"Yes, he will! Trust me!"  
  
"No, you trust me; he's not going to answer! He doesn't love me!"  
  
Pause.  
  
Sigh.  
  
"That went well."  
  
"Indeed......... any other clue as to where he is?"  
  
"No, but you'll be the first one to know if my plan works."  
  
"What plan?"  
  
"I can't tell you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because, you never know if he's listening or not."  
  
"Please Rommie! I might be able to help!"  
  
"I'll tell you if it works or not Trance. Until then, there shall be no word to anyone. Understood?"  
  
Sigh.  
  
"Understood."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Harper! Where are you?!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Come on! We're only trying to help you!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Okay, okay; I'll get you a years worth of sparky cola!"  
  
Still nothing.  
  
"Two years?!"  
  
Yet again; nothing.  
  
"Harper! Are you even listening to me!?!"  
  
"He could be ignoring the intercom."  
  
"Rommie!! You almost gave me a heart attack!"  
  
"I'm sorry Dylan. Could you please go talk to Beka?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I have reason to believe that she's the reason that Harper is avoiding us all."  
  
"Yes, me too."  
  
"Trance?"  
  
"Trance, I'm not telling you, so don't even try."  
  
"Try what exactly?"  
  
"Nothing Dylan, don't worry."  
  
"Tell me, why am I worrying?"  
  
"Because we told you not to worry?"  
  
"I see... Where's Beka?"  
  
"The Maru."  
  
"Right; Trance, go find Tyr and help him, alright?"  
  
"Alright."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
"Beka?"  
  
"Go away!"  
  
"Tell me what's wrong first."  
  
"You wouldn't understand!"  
  
"Try me."  
  
"Okay, fine. Harper doesn't love me..."  
  
Pause.  
  
Laugh.  
  
"Is this what this is all about?"  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Beka, who do you think that he loves?"  
  
"Trance."  
  
"You really can be clueless..."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
Sigh.  
  
"He doesn't love Trance."  
  
"And how would you know?"  
  
"I know because, well... I could tell you that I love Trance, but that would sound too much like a soap opera..."  
  
"Yes, now tell me how you know."  
  
"Okay, Trance, well, Trance is Trance. And Harper... Harper has been looking goo-goo eyes at you all this time, and whenever you leave him at command, he always whines; whether its to me, Andromeda, Tyr, of Trance."  
  
"And your trying to say?"  
  
"That is he loves anyone on this ship, it's you."  
  
Pause.  
  
"God, Trance was right..." 


End file.
